Traders call off No UPI Day protest after meeting finance minister
Traders' bodies called off their planned 'No UPI Day' strike for October 2 after a delegation met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The move followed concerns raised by more than twenty trade groups about the proposed 0.4% merchant discount rate on UPI payments above ₹2,000.
The finance minister assured that all issues would be considered with utmost seriousness, leading to the withdrawal of the protest call. Traders had sought a deferment of the MDR ahead of the festive season, an increase of the monthly exempt‑receipt limit for merchants from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh, and exclusion of merchant‑to‑merchant transactions from the MDR regime. The MDR, set to take effect on October 15, marks a shift from the zero‑fee regime that has been in place for nearly seven years. A petition challenging the MDR framework was filed in the Supreme Court, which later refused to stay the rule but asked the government, RBI and NPCI for responses.
“More than 20 organisations, including AIMRA and AICPDF, expressed their concerns. The finance minister assured that all issues would be considered with utmost seriousness. Accordingly, the call for the proposed ‘No UPI Day’ on October 2 has been withdrawn,” Praveen Khandelwal, BJP MP from Chandni Chowk and secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders said.
Days earlier, AIMRA and AICPDF had announced a nationwide protest for October 2, saying their network of 4.5 lakh distributors and 1.3 crore retailers would take part. The protest was in response to the finance ministry’s decision to allow a 0.4% MDR on specified P2M UPI transactions above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300 for payments of ₹75,000 or more. Banks and payment providers have welcomed the move as a new revenue source, while merchant groups warn it could raise costs during the festive season.
What we know
The No UPI Day protest was originally scheduled for October 2.
More than twenty organisations, including AIMRA and AICPDF, expressed concerns about the proposed MDR.
The delegation that met the finance minister was led by Praveen Khandelwal, a BJP MP from Chandni Chowk and secretary general of CAIT.
The finance ministry approved a 0.4% MDR on specified P2M UPI transactions above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 or more.
The zero‑MDR regime had been in place for almost seven years before the new MDR framework.